ThisWeek CW 08/20/2015

The Madison Township Fire Department is gearing up for new recruits with a new candidate test scheduled for Oct. 9-10.

Chief Robert Bates said the department could hire as many as 10 recruits off the new test list. Any new hires would be added to the current staff of 42 full-time firefighters, 30 part-time firefighters and one full-time office manager, he said.

Madison Township voters approved a 5.25-mill fire levy in May that is expected to generate $3,266,168 annually, with the money to be used for new equipment, additional staffing and construction of a new firehouse in the Blacklick Estates neighborhood.

Since 2014, the fire department has participated in theCentral Ohio Firefighter Testing Consortium, which consists of Madison Township, the West Licking Joint Fire District, the Newark Division of Fire, the Heath Division of Fire and the C-TEC Adult Education Center.

By participating in the consortium, the township and applicants save time and money, according to Bates.

“While this isn’t in our backyard, it saves us taking applicants out to the Fire Academy and then we don’t have to send some of our staff out to spend a weekend setting and resetting (physical ability) tests instead of working here,” Bates said.

“C-TEC will do it all, top-to-bottom, and once the applicant passes the testing, they can get on our list for our final hiring processes.”

According to spokesman Brian Wilfong, the goal of the consortium is to streamline a system that allows departments to minimize pre-employment testing costs for entry-level firefighter positions by having one test that serves multiple fire departments.

The applicants similarly will only pay one testing fee for consideration by multiple departments.

This year’s test will primarily serve the West Licking Joint Fire District and Madison Township.

For more information, contact Erna Holland at 740-364-2282 or email eholland@c-tec.edu or Kathy Roderick at 740-364-2261.